Self-opening umbrellas

ABSTRACT

A self-opening umbrella utilizing tension springs for selfopening operation is disclosed and comprises a rod or stick with a crown secured on the top thereof, a plurality of roof ribs having their respective base ends thereof pivotably mounted to the periphery of the crown, a slider member roof rib, each slider member being slidable along its associated roof rib, a lower sliding sleeve slidably mounted around the rod or stick and including connection means for connecting the end of an associated tension spring, an upper sliding sleeve slidably mounted around the rod or stick and above the lower sliding sleeve, a brace member associated with each roof rib and pivotably connected at one end thereof to the slider member and having its otherwise free end pivotably connected to the upper sliding sleeve, and an axial compression spring disposed between the upper sliding sleeve and the connection means of the lower sliding member, the tension spring being connected at its otherwise free end to an associated brace and at a point near the associated slider member, whereby maintaining the umbrella in an open condition is attained utilizing little force and, hence, the force necessary for closing the umbrella is reduced.

United States Patent 1 Hirai 5] May 15, 1973 54] SELF-OPENING UMBRELLAS 57 ABSTRACT Inventor: Masaakinilfli, Osaka, Japan A self-opening umbrella utilizing tension springs for [73] Assigneez Asahi KOgyO Co Ltd. Osaka self-opening operation is disclosed and comprises a Japan rod or stick with a crown secured on the top thereof, a plurality of roof ribs having their respective base ends [22] Filed: Feb. 16,1970 thereof pivotably mounted to the periphery of the crown, a slider member roof rib, each slider member [21] Appl' being slidable along its associated roof rib, a lower sliding sleeve slidably mounted around the rod or stick [30] Foreign Application Priority Data and including connection means for connecting the end of an associated tension spring, an upper sliding Aug. 22, 1969 Japan ..44/802l9 sleeve slidably mounted around the rod or stick and 52 U.S. Cl. ..135/22, 135 25, 135/26 brace member 51 I t Cl A45, 25/16 sociated with each roof rib and pivotably connected at i 22 23 24 one end thereof to the slider member and having its 1 0 g otherwise free end pivotably connected to the upper sliding sleeve, and an axial compression spring disposed between the upper sliding sleeve and the [56] References cued connection means of the lower sliding member, the UNITED STATES PATENTS tension spring being connected at its otherwise free end to an assoclated brace and at a point near the as- 2,l87,372 1/1940 Capaldo 135/44 X ociated lider member whereby maintaining the um- 2,705,967 4/1955 Z1mmerman brella in an open condition is attained utilizing little 2,906,277 9/1959 Militano ..l35/22 Primary Examiner-Kenneth Downey Attorney- Olson, Trexler, Wolters and Bushnell force and, hence, the force necessary for closing the umbrella is reduced.

3 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTED HAYI 51975 SHEET 1 OF 5 I NVENTOR H/RAI MASAAK/ BY M414 ATTORN EYS PATENTED HAY] 51973 SHEET 2 0F 5 INVENTOR MASAAK/ H/PA/ ATTOhNH'S PATENTED HAY] 51973 SHEET L 0F 5 INVENT OR MAsAAKl H/PA/ ATTORNEYS PATENTED MAY 1 51973 SHEET 5 OF 5 INVENTOR MASAAKI H/PA/ M /u/ BY {A ATTORNH'S 1 SELF-OPENING UMBRELLAS SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION more particularly to an umbrella of the self-opening type employing tension spring means for the selfopening operation.

DISTINCTIONS OVER PRIOR ART AND OBJECTS While the self-opening umbrella employing spring force for the self-opening operation requires a sufficient amount of force to be exerted against the roof fabric of the umbrella in order to maintain the umbrella in an open condition, the smaller force should be required-to close the same since the closing operation is done manually. However, it has been found in the prior art umbrellas of this type, a considerably large amount of force is required for closing the same. This is due primarily to the tensile force required for automatically opening the umbrella and also to the physical structure of the umbrella.

Furthermore, it has been found that the prior art umbrellas of the self-opening type are of complicated structures and designs tending to cause failures in the operation of the umbrella as well as making the umbrella extremely heavy. In addition, these umbrella are bulky and difficult to carry around.

Accordingly, an important object of the present invention is to provide a novel and improved self-opening umbrella which requires little force for manually closing the umbrella.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a novel and improved self-opening umbrella which is lighter in weight and less bulky than the prior art umbrellas, thus providing improved appearance and portability.

A more specific object of the present invention is to provide a novel and improved self-opening umbrella which employs tension springs and wherein the force for closing the umbrella is reduced as compared with prior art self-opening umbrellas and while satisfactorily maintaining the umbrella in an opened condition.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a novel and improved umbrella of the above stated type comprising a simplified structure.

These and other objects and features of the present invention will become more apparent from a reading of the following descriptions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING This invention, both as to its construction and its mode of operation, will be better understood by reference to the following disclosure and drawings forming a part thereof, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side view of the self-opening umbrella constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, the umbrella being shown in its fully opened condition;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the self-opening umbrella of FIG. 1, being shown in its closed but extended condition;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the self-opening umbrella of FIG. 1, being shown in its partly opened condition;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the self-opening umbrella of FIG. 1, being shown in its contracted condition;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross section taken along the line VV in Flg. 4; and,

FIG. 6 is a side view of a self-opening umbrella constructed in accordance with a second embodiment of the invention, which umbrella is shown in its partly opened condition.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring now in detail to the drawings, specifically to FIGS. 1 through 5, a self-opening umbrella constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown. It is to be noted that the roof fabric or protecting fabric is removed for the purpose of clarity. The umbrella includes an upper hollow rod or stick member 1 and a lower rod or stick member 2 which is telescopically inserted through an open end in the upper rod member 1.

A wheel or crown 3 is rigidly secured to the top or otherwise free end of upper rod or stick member 1 and pivotably carries on its periphery thereof a plurality of mother roof ribs 4, only one of which is shown in the Figures. The motor roof ribs 4 are connected to the wheel or crown 3 at their base ends and are pivotable in a plane passing through the longitudinal axis of the rod or stick members 1 and 2. Each of the mother roof ribs 4 is a longitudinally extending member having a channeled-shaped cross-section as shown in FIG. 5, the channel being opened downwardly when the umbrella is in its fully opened condition as shown in FIG. 1.

Each mother rib 4 carries thereon a slider member 5 which is slideable along the db 4. The slider member 5 includes a pivot pin 6 which pivotably connects the base end of an outer roof rib 7, the roof rib extending outwardly from within the groove or channel of the mother rib 4. When the slider member 5 is moved along the mother rib 4 towards the crown 3, the outer roof rib 7 is moved from an extended position to a retracted po- I sition within the groove or channel in the mother rib as is shown in FIG. 5. Each mother rib 4 includes on its otherwise free end thereof a stopper 8 which serves to limit the radially outward movement of an associated slider members.

A sliding upper sleeve 9 and a sliding lower sleeve 10 are slideably mounted around the upper rod member 1. The upper sleeve 9 includes a plurality of pivot pins 1 1 which are mounted around the periphery of the upper sleeve 9 on the sleeves lower end, each pin extending in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis of rod member 1. A plurality of braces 12, only one of which is shown, are pivotably connected at their respective base ends to a respective pin 11 and have their otherwise free ends pivotably connected to a respective or corresponding pivot pin 6. Each of the braces 12 is a longitudinally extending member having a longitudinal groove 13 and a channeled-shaped cross-section as can be seen in FIG. 5, the longitudinal groove 13 opening downwardly when the umbrella is in its opened condition as shown in FIG. 1.

The lower sliding sleeve 10 has on the top periphery thereof lugs 15, each of which serves to retain one end I of an associated tension coil spring 14, the other end of the tension coil spring being connected to an associated brace 12 at a point near the slider member 5. While the manner of connecting the ends of tension coil spring 14 is-not shown in detail, it is to be understood that they may be conventionally connected. For example, a pair of lugs may be mounted to the side walls of the brace 12 and within the longitudinal groove 13 so that they project towards each other so as to form a gap therebetween, the gap being smaller than the diameter of the convolutions of spring 14. The end of spring 14 can thereby be attached to brace 12 by forcing the end of the spring through any beyond the gap so that the spring is secured to the lugs. The other end of spring 14 may be merely hooked to the lug 15.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, it is to be noted that when the umbrella is in its closed or partially closed condition, the spring 14 is under tension and acts to urge the lower sleeve and mother and outer ribs 4 and 7 respectively in a direction upwardly and outwardly respectively so that the umbrella is driven towards its fully opened position as seen in FIG. 1. While this will be described in more detail hereinafter, it is to further be noted that although a spring 14 may be provided for all braces 12, it is also possible to provide a spring 14 for every other brace 12.

The umbrella also includes a relatively light compression coil spring 16 which is disposed around the upper rod member 1 and between the upper sleeve 9 and the lower sleeve 10, the spring being provided for reasons which will be discussed hereinafter.

A conventional sleeve locking means 17 is provided at the lower end of lower rod member 2 and comprises a locking pawl 17a and an unlocking pawl 17b. These pawls are resiliently urged outwardly beyond an opening (not shown) formed in the wall of the lower rod 2. When the umbrella is in the closed but extended condition as shown in FIG. 2, the locking pawl 17a of the locking means 17 engages a hole 18 formed in the lower sleeve 10 and prevents upward movement of the sleeve. The pawl 17a may be disengaged from the hole 18 by depressing the unlocking pawl 17b.

A handle 20 is rigidly secured to the lower end of rod 2 and defines a recess 19 which extends around the periphery of the rod 2. The recess 19 serves to receive therein the free ends of outer roof ribs 7 when the umbrella is in its fully closed and retracted condition as shown in FIG. 4. A shock absorber 21 in the form of a rubber ring is. mounted around the rod member 1 and positioned adjacent to and below the crown 3.

To open the umbrella from the closed and contracted condition as shown in FIG. 4, the handle 20 is manually pulled so as to cause the lower rod 2 to be withdrawn from the upper rod 1. This puts the umbrella in its extended but closed condition as shown in FIG. 2. The unlocking pawl 17b is then depressed, causing the locking pawl 17a to be disengaged from the hole 18 in the lower sleeve 10. Since the sleeve 10 is now freed from the pawl 17a, it may readily slide along the rod member 2 and the rod member 1 towards the crown 3, the force required for sliding the sleeve being supplied by the tension springs 14 which as stated above are under tension when the umbrella is in its closed condition. Specifically, since the tension springs 14 are in their greatest tension state when the umbrella is closed as shown in FIG. 2 and are in their least tension state when the umbrella is in its opened condition as shown in FIG. 1, the springs, which naturally tend to assume their least tension state, drive the lower sleeve 10 up the lower rod member 2 and upper rod member 1. Simultaneously therewith the sleeve 10 forces the sleeve 9 upward along the rod members. The braces 12, which have their respective base ends connected to the upper sleeve 9 by respective pivot pins 11, are pivoted about pivot pins 11 while simultaneously being driven from their vertically extending positions when the umbrella is in its closed condition to their horizontally extended positions. Since the otherwise free ends of braces 12 are connected to respective slider members 5, this in turn causes the mother roof ribs 4, supporting the slider member, and outer roof ribs 7 to swing outwardly and upwardly so as to assume substantially horizontally extended positions as shown in FIG. 1.

As the opening operation of the umbrella proceeds, the angle of inclination of the axis of each spring 14 relative to the longitudinal axis of the upper rod 1 and lower rod 2 in increased. Because of this and because the tensile force of each spring 14 is continuously being reduced as the spring approaches the position shown in FIG. 1, the springs component of force in the longitudinal direction, that is to say in the direction required to drive sleeve member 10, is greatest when the umbrella is in its closed condition and gradually decreases as the opening operation proceeds and becomes smallest when the umbrella is in its fully opened condition.

The compression spring 16, which as stated above is disposed between the upper sleeve 9 and the lower sleeve 10, is provided for two primary purposes. Firstly, the compression spring 16 aids in initiating the automatic opening of the umbrella and secondly, it allows the umbrella to be reliably maintained in its opened condition while decreasing the force of tension springs 14 required to do the same.

With respect to the first purpose, it is to be noted that when the umbrella is in its closed condition, as shown in FIG. 2, the compression spring 16 is in its most compressed state having an overall length L the compression spring being compressed by the sleeve members 9 and 1(1). When the sleeve member 10 is disengaged as described above, the compression spring 16 is allowed to expand which in turn drives the sleeve member 9 upwardly so that braces 12 are initially moved from their vertical position toward the horizontal position. With out this initial force exerted by the compression spring 16, the braces 12 might tend to remain in their vertical position regardless of the disengagement of sleeve member 10.

With respect to the second above stated purpose, it is to be noted that when the umbrella is in its fully opened condition the compression spring 16 is completely expanded and is of a length L, which therefore operates to space the sleeves 9 and 10 a distance L, with respect to each other. This in turn prevents the sleeve 10 from sliding completely to the top of rod member 1 so that some tension remains in springs 14 when the umbrella is in its opened condition. This continuous tensile force exerted by the springs 14 when the umbrella is in its opened condition allows the umbrella to be more reliably maintained in this condition than the umbrellas found in the prior art. Further, it allows the utilization of less forceful tension springs 14 than tension type springs found in the prior art.

For closing the umbrella from its initial opened condition as shown in FIG. 1, the lower sliding sleeve 10 is manually pulled downwardly causing the mother roof ribs 4 and the outer roof ribs 7 and the braces 12 to swing toward their closed position. When the sleeve 10 engages the locking pawl 17a at its hole 18, the pawl 17a locks the sleeve 10 in the position shown in FIG. 2. In this case, it should be noted that the distance be tween the sleeves 9 and 10 gradually decreases as the closing operation proceeds so that the compression force of the compression spring 16 gradually closing the umbrella is smaller as compared with the conventional or prior art umbrella construction.

After the umbrella is folded into its closed condition as shown in FIG. 2, the lower rod member 2 is pushed into the upper rod member 1, whereby the umbrella assumes its retracted and closed condition as shown in Flg. 4. It is to be noted that when the umbrella is in its retracted and closed position the tension springs I4 lie within corresponding longitudinal grooves 13 in the braces 12, and the outer roof ribs 7 are disposed within the recess 19. Thus, the bulk of the folded umbrella herein disclosed is substantially the same as that of the conventional or prior art umbrella regardless of the fact that tension springs 14 are required.

Turning to FIG. 6, a self-opening umbrella of a second embod'unent is shown and includes the upper end lower rod members I and 2 respectively. A lower or inner sliding sleeve 110 is slideably mounted around the upper and lower rod members 1 and 2 for movement along the longitudinal axes of the rods. An upper or outer sliding sleeve 109 which is considerably shorter than the inner sleeve 110 is slideably mounted around the sleeve 110 for movement in the same direction as sleeve 110. The upward or forward movement of the sleeve 109 is limited by an annular stopper projection 110a at the upper part of sleeve 110.

Since the embodiment shown in FIg. 6 includes many of the elements described with respect to FIGS. 1 through 5, which elements are designated by like numerals, a detailed description thereof will not be given and reference is made to FIGS. 1 through 5. Briefly, however, it is to be noted that the braces 12 are pivotably connected at one end thereof to the sliders 5 by pivot pins 6 and are pivotably connected at their otherwise free ends to the upper or outer sleeve 109 by pivot pins 11 which are mounted to the outer sleeve in the same manner as described with respect to the sleeve of FIGS. 1 through 5. Each of the tension springs 14 is connected at one end thereof to its respective brace 12 near the slider member 5, in the same manner as described above, and has its otherwise free end connected to the lower or inner sleeve 110 by means of the lug l 15, which lug is mounted to the inner sleeve 1 10 in the same manner as with respect to sleeve member 10 of FIGS. 1 trough 5. The compression spring 16 is mounted around the inner sleeve 110 and interposed between the lugs 115 and the outer sleeve 109. The other members of the self-opening umbrella of FIG. 6 are arranged and constructed in the same manner as previously described with respect to the embodiment of FIGS. 1 through 5.

It is to be understood that while there are operational differences between the two above described embodiments, which differences will be described hereinafter, there are also many similarities. For example, it is to be noted, that the compression spring 16 included in the embodiment of FIG. 6 is least compressed when the umbrella is in its fully opened condition such that the outer sleeve 109 is adjacentto and in contact with the stopper projection 110a. When the umbrella is in its closed but extended condition such that the hole 18 in inner sleeve 110 engages the locking pawl 17a, the compression spring 16 is in its maximum compressed state. It is also to be understood that the tension springs 14 reliably maintain the umbrella in its fully opened condition in the same manner as described with respect to FIGS. 1 through 5 and that the closing operations of the umbrella may be carried out with less force than is required in the conventionally constructed umbrellas of the prior art.

Turning to the difierences between the above described embodiments of the self-opening umbrella herein disclosed, attention is directed to the operation of the umbrella described with respect to FIGS. 1 through 5. Specifically, when the lower sleeve 10 is initially moved down along the rod members 1 and 2 in order to close the umbrella from its fully opened condition, a time lapse exists before the upper sleeve 9 begins to move downward. This time lapse is brought about because the upper sleeve 9 must solely rely upon the braces 12 connected thereto for downward movement, the ends of the braces connected to the upper sleeve 9 remaining stationary until the lower sleeve 10 moves down a slight distance therefrom. This is avoided in the embodiment described with respect to FIG. 6 in that the outer sleeve 109 is not only driven downward by the braces 12 but also by the inner sleeve 110 simultaneously therewith. As can be seen in FIG.

6, the stopper projection 110a of the sleeve 110 forces the outer sleeve 109 to move along with the inner sleeve 110.

In summarizing the specific advantages of the present invention, it is to be noted firstly, that the force required for closing the umbrella is less than that required for the conventionally constructed umbrellas and in spite of this fact the retension of the umbrella in its opened condition is reliable. Secondly, because of the utilization of tension springs of small force, the construction of the umbrella is simple, durable and lighter in weight than the conventionally constructed umbrellas.

While the particular embodiments of the invention herein disclosed have been directed to the contractible type umbrellas, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited thereto but may be applied to conventional non-contractible umbrellas with the same advantages.

Having now described the invention and having exemplified the manner in which it can be carried into practice, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that innumerable variations, applications, modifications and extensions of the basic principles involved may be made without departing from the scope of the invention, and the invention is to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A self-opening umbrella comprising: a plurality of tension springs; a longitudinally extending rod formed of a plurality of telescoping sections; a crown secured on one end of said rod; a plurality of roof ribs having their respective base ends pivotally mounted about the periphery of said crown; a lower sleeve member slidable along said rod and having thereon means for connecting respective first ends of said tension springs thereto; an upper sleeve member located above said connecting means and slidable directly on said rod; an axial compression spring surrounding said rod and disposed between said upper sleeve member and said lower sleeve member to provide for joint relative movement thereof; a plurality of slider members mounted for slidable movement along said roof members; and a plurality of braces pivotally connected at first ends thereof to slider members of respective roof ribs and at their opposite ends to said upper sleeve member, with 2. The self-opening umbrella as set forth in claim 1 wherein said upper sliding sleeve is substantially shorter than said lower sliding sleeve and is slidably mounted on said lower sliding sleeve and wherein said axial compression spring is carried by and mounted around said lower sliding sleeve.

3. The self-opening umbrella as set forth in claim 2 including means for limiting the upward sliding movement of said upper sliding sleeve on said lower sliding sleeve. 

1. A self-opening umbrella comprising: a plurality of tension springs; a longitudinally extending rod formed of a plurality of telescoping sections; a crown secured on one end of said rod; a plurality of roof ribs having their respective base ends pivotally mounted about the periphery of said crown; a lower sleeve member slidable along said rod and having thereon means for connecting respective first ends of said tension springs thereto; an upper sleeve member located above said connecting means and slidable directly on said rod; an axial compression spring surrounding said rod and disposed between said upper sleeve member and said lower sleeve member to provide for joint relative movement thereof; a plurality of slider members mounted for slidable movement along said roof members; and a plurality of braces pivotally connected at first ends thereof to slider members of respective roof ribs and at their opposite ends to said upper sleeve member, with the opposite free ends of said tension springs being connected to said braces such that when said umbrella is in the closed condition, said tension springs will be stretched, tending to pull said lower sleeve member upwardly to produce opening movement of the roof ribs and each said brace being of a channel-shaped cross-section having a longitudinal groove, said groove opening downwardly when said umbrella is in an opened condition and wherein an associated tension spring is received within said groove when said umbrella is in a closed condition.
 2. The self-opening umbrella as set forth in claim 1 wherein said upper sliding sleeve is substantially shorter than said lower sliding sleeve and is slidably mounted on said lower sliding sleeve and wherein said axial compression spring is carried by and mounted around said lower sliding sleeve.
 3. The self-opening umbrella as set forth in claim 2 including means for limiting the upward sliding movement of said upper sliding sleeve on said lower sliding sleeve. 